Sam Jackson and John Goodman Face Off in Tense New ‘Kong: Skull Island’ Clip

Summer movie season starts a little earlier every year, and in 2017, it has consumed May, April, and even our beloved March. Loganwill kick off the big-budget bonanza in the first weekend of March, and then cede the floor to the gargantuan Kong: Skull Island the weekend after. Even so, these two releases in particular inspire hope rather than dread when reflecting upon the studio-fronted franchise releases encroaching beyond their summer stomping grounds. All the previews have suggested that these two films will have something original to bring to the table, and the latest clip for Kong: Skull Island confirms that if nothing else, we’ll have some delectable character acting to enjoy.

Today brings a new bit of footage from the upcoming adventure film, in which Samuel L. Jackson’s military man Preston Packard has a tense exchange with John Goodman’s government specialist Bill Randa. They’ve got a classic monster-movie difference of opinion: Upon realizing that a skyscraper-sized beast lurks within the jungle, Packard decides to go with the time-tested “firebomb it straight to hell” line, but Randa emphasizes the importance of respecting the nature that existed long before we did. He understands that they’re all reckoning with forces far beyond mortal control, and the most they can hope to do is escape with their lives and little proof that at least one ‘roided-out dinosaur still walks the Earth.

Neither Tom Hiddleston nor Brie Larson show up for the new clip, presumably off fleeing for their lives before the might of King Kong. But this new clip offers a glimpse of narrative B-plot Jackson and Goodman have to themselves, and lucky for us, it involves a lot of intense staring and serious-talking.